FRANCE: The Antis Have It

The French. Assembly this week found itself
divided and agitated over two new words, "antianticipationisme" and
"antioctobrisme." Antianticipationistes are those Deputies who want to
put off this year's national elections until October; antioctobristes
want to hold them in June.

This bitter dispute about dates was the latest symptom of the Assembly's
deadlock over the issue of electoral reform. Most Deputies agree that
the present system of proportional-representation voting must be
changed before the next election. The antianticipationistes feel that
the Assembly, which has fruitlessly debated the question on & off since
last October, will be unable to find a workable...